With daylight savings suddenly behind us, the days of growing darkness are here. The paradox of light and shadow brings necessary balance, and not only in a painting. As an artist, Susan embraces this darkness as a ballast for the brightness of spring. And, she knows that in any season, the natural world offers both beauty and terror, both life and death, both light and dark, all combined in a rich mash.

Just like Susan, Mary Oliver has dedicated most of her career to the environment. The American poet and recipient of the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize turns towards nature for inspiration and describes the sense of wonder it instills in her. “When it’s over,” she says, “I want to say: all my life / I was a bride married to amazement. I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.” (When Death Comes from New and Selected Poems (1992))

Carl Sandburg on the transient beauty of nature.

Whether it be from a literary or an artistic angle, both poet Henrietta Cordelia Ray and artist Susan Swartz seek to better understand natural waters by capturing their magnificence.

Yes, it really is an English year for Susan! In choosing the recent paintings for their Susan Swartz November exhibition, Belgravia Gallery loves Transition 17 60 x 60. It's still spring in the mountains, and this painting reminds Susan of the beautiful poem from 1967 by the great English poet Philip Larkin.